The government of South Africa announced on Tuesday that it intends to add 2,500 megawatts of new nuclear generation in order to combat devastating power blackouts.
The nation is home to Africa’s only nuclear power plant, the Koeberg facility near Cape Town, though it is currently only operating at half capacity.
At a press briefing, Zizamele Mbambo, deputy director general of nuclear power for the energy ministry, estimated that the first of the new units will likely go online in 2032 or 2033.
He claimed that South Africa had already requested bids from “different vendors.”
The additional 2,500 MW of nuclear power, according to Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, would be “a significant milestone.”
In reference to power outages and long-term energy security, he continued, it would be a component of government action aimed at “ending the existential challenge that is confronting the country.”
Over the past 15 years, intermittent power outages lasting up to 12 hours a day have severely harmed the economy and the government’s standing as it prepares for elections in 2019.
The power outages are a result of maintenance issues and corruption within the national power company, Eskom.
